End of the road for the Great Wall of China?

IT HAS survived for more than 2200 years, but the Great Wall of China is now in danger of destruction.

But it's not tourists who are ruining the world's largest man-made structure. It's the local farmers.

Shockingly, nearly two-thirds of the wall has now been damaged or destroyed, Li Lin from the China Great Wall Society told the UK's Daily Mail.

That's because farmers living near the structure have reportedly been using materials from the wall to construct their own roads, shelters pathways, to patch up their homes and even to fertilise their crops.

Other sections have been affected by vandalism.

Regulations to protect the landmark, which was built during the Ming dynasty, were passed in 2006 but haven't been properly enforced in rural areas.

Sections of the wall near Beijing and tourist centres have been preserved or even renovated, but it's a different story in poorer parts of the country.

"We tried to stop villagers from destroying the Great Wall," Chen Jun told CCTV.com. "But the relics here are not included in the protection zone. Our hands are tied."

The Great Wall is made of stone, brick, wood and other materials.

People make their way toward the summit watchtower on Tiger Mountain Great Wall. Picture: SuppliedSource:News Limited